Thompson paces GW with 19 points in 80-76 victory over Charlotte.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -J.R. Pinnock scored with 31 seconds to play and Carl Elliott had a pair of late steals to seal George Washington's 80-76 victory over Charlotte in a season opener Friday night.

The game was tied at 74 when Pinnock put the Colonials on top to stay with a driving layup. Elliott then took the ball away from Charlotte's Brendan Plavich and quickly called timeout.

Lafonte Johnson was fouled when play resumed and made both his free throws to give George Washington a 78-74 lead with 21 seconds left. Elliott had another steal, Pinnock was fouled and made one of two shots to make it 79-74.

Mitchell Baldwin scored for Charlotte with 4.8 seconds to play, but George Washington closed it with one more free throw by T.J. Thompson.